Ruth Becker
| Ruth Becker Blanchard | |
|---|---|
|
Ruth Becker as a girl, ca. 1912 | |
| Born |
Ruth Elizabeth Becker October 28, 1899 Guntur, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Andhra Pradesh, India) |
| Died |
July 6, 1990 (aged 90) Santa Barbara, California |
| Spouse(s) | Daniel Blanchard |
| Parent(s) |
Allen Oliver Becker Nellie E. Baumgardner Becker |
Ruth Elizabeth Becker (October 28, 1899 – July 6, 1990) was one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.[1]
Early life
Becker was born on October 28, 1899 in Guntur, India, to American Lutheran missionary Allen Oliver Becker and his wife, Nellie E. Baumgardner Becker. A younger brother, Luther, was born in Lima, Ohio, in March 1905, but died on 7 February 1907 in Guntur just before his second birthday. In December 1907, Nellie gave birth to a second daughter, Marion. A son, Richard, was born in June 1910 at Kodaikanal.[2][3][4]
In early 1912, Richard contracted an illness in India, and Nellie decided to take him, Ruth, and Marion to Benton Harbor, Michigan to seek treatment for him.
Titanic
Ruth's two-year-old brother Richard got the illness from India and Nellie decided to sail from England to he U.S. with him, Ruth and Ruth's younger sister leaving their father behind. They boarded the Ellerman Line steamer City of Benares for a trip to England that started at Madras, went through the Suez Canal to Port Said and then through the Mediterranean, through the Strait of Gilbraltar and finally up to London, England. Ruth boarded the Titanic along with Nellie, Marion, and Richard as second-class passengers on April 10, 1912 at Southampton, England. Shortly after the ship's collision with the iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, she recalled that a steward told her mother, "We've had a little accident. They're going to fix it, and then we'll be on our way."[2] Realizing that the ship was seriously damaged, Nellie took her children up on the boat deck, but told Ruth to go back to her cabin to get some blankets.
Junior Officer James Moody loaded Marion and Richard into Boat 11, but wouldn't let Nellie in. It was only after pleading with a steward that he finally consented, but Ruth was not allowed in. Nellie then screamed to her to get in another lifeboat. Boat 11 was one of the few that was overloaded.[5] She later got tossed into Boat 13 by Officer Moody.
Nellie, Ruth, Marion, and Richard were all picked up by the rescue ship RMS Carpathia. Although it was a struggle to find her mother and siblings on the ship, Ruth finally did. They arrived in New York City on April 18. Soon after their arrival, they took a train to Benton Harbor, Michigan. Allen finished his missionary work in India and joined them in 1913.
Later life
In the years following the disaster, Becker refused to talk about her experiences aboard the Titanic and her own children, when young, did not know that she had been on board. After she retired and moved to Santa Barbara, California, she began speaking more openly.[2]
In 1982, Becker joined several other survivors at a Titanic Historical Society convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania commemorating the 70th anniversary of the sinking. She would attend two more conventions in 1987 and 1988. In March 1990, she made her first sea voyage since 1912 when she went on a cruise to Mexico. [2]
Death
Becker died on July 6, 1990 in Santa Barbara at the age of 90 as a result of malnutrition. She was cremated and on April 16, 1994 her ashes were spread over the exact spot in the Atlantic Ocean where the Titanic sank eighty-two years before.[2][6] Frank Goldsmith and Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall also had theirs scattered over there.[2][7]
References
- ↑ Robbins, William (April 18, 1982). "Screams, Then Sea's Silence, Still Haunt 5 Survivors Of Titanic.". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
Out of a night so cold that ice crystals formed whiskers around the lights, as old sailors put it, over the dark waters and across 70 years, the screams still haunt these five survivors, aging men and women for whom the nightmare of the sinking of the Titanic is ...
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ruth Elizabeth Becker". Encyclopedia Titanica. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
Mrs Allen Oliver Becker (Nellie E. Baumgardner), 36, boarded the Titanic at Southampton. she was travelling with her children Ruth, Richard and Marion from Guntur, India to Benton Harbour, Michigan.
- ↑ The Hindu: The Titanic survivors from Guntur
- ↑ "Nellie E. Becker". Encyclopedia Titanica. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
Miss Ruth Elizabeth Becker, 12, boarded the Titanic at Southampton. She was travelling with her mother Nellie, brother Richard and sister Marion from India to Benton Harbour, Michigan.
- ↑ Wormstedt, Bill; Fitch, Tad (2011). "An Account of the Saving of Those on Board". In Halpern, Samuel. Report into the Loss of the SS Titanic: A Centennial Reappraisal. Stroud, UK: The History Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7524-6210-3. — Boat 11 was lowered with an estimated 70 aboard, having a capacity of 65.
- ↑ "Ruth Blanchard Dies.". Santa Barbara News-Press. July 8, 1990. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
Ruth Becker Blanchard, a survivor of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, died Friday at home in Santa Barbara. She was 90.
- ↑ "Titanic Today: Exhibition of Titanic Artifacts - The Salvage Controversy". Retrieved 2008-06-02.
On April 16, 1994, the ashes of Titanic survivor Ruth Becker Blanchard were cast over the area by a USCG chaplain, where they will join Fourth Officer Boxhall and Frank Goldsmith, also Titanic survivors who requested they be returned to the sea where hundreds of people perished.